Promoting Mucuna Beans Production for Soil Rehabilitation, Incomes, Food and Nutrition Security in Kenya

Abstract

Mucuna prurien beans is a genus of around 100 accepted species of climbing lianas (vines) and shrubs of the family Fabaceae and typically found in tropical woodlands. The plant has a potential for multiple uses. According to Food and Agriculture Organization [1], Mucuna (Mucuna pruriens) has potential to restore soil as well as provide food. It is an emerging multiple-use leguminous crop [2] with high potential to enhance soil health and biodiversity. Mucuna bean (Mucuna pruriens) has been grown in Kenya for purposes of rehabilitating deteriorated soils, animal feeds as well as human food. Farmers in Western Kenya (Bungoma, Kakamega and Siaya counties) have grown Mucuna beans as a Conservation Agriculture (CA) crop. This crop when grown, it prevents soil deterioration and rehabilitate the affected areas, meaning it has the potential to restore soil structure [1]. Western Kenya counties in partnership with GIZ promoted the growing of Mucuna crop as a cover crop. A total of 325 (7500 individual farmers) farmer groups are actively involved in Mucuna production. On average 18,967 hectares of land were rehabilited by growing Mucuna beans crop today (Table 1). This explains why the beans have been promoted widely in these counties. *Corresponding author: Mary Stella Wabwoba, LICHA Consultancy, Bungoma, Kenya. ISSN: 2644-2981 DOI: 10.33552/GJNFS.2019.02.000543